Monday leftovers

No one said it would be easy, least of all Deshaun Watson. To be honest, though, his return to the National Football League Sunday in Houston was not that far removed from being disastrous.

Watson knew he wouldn't be the quarterback the Browns traded a ridiculous fortune for last March 18. That quarterback won't be back until next season. That's when fans will find out whether this massive gamble pays off.

Do not use his well-below-average performance Sunday as a barometer for the future. He looked lost at times when head coach Kevin Stefanski called for a pass. The speed of the game, as opposed the more choreographed practices, was significantly faster and quicker.

Although he was sacked only once, Watson had plenty of company from the Texans' pass rush. On several occasions, he hurried throws that came out of his hands oddly. On a few of them, it was as though his target was the ground as they arrived well short, a couple of times diving and missing by yards.

The good news is he and center Hjalte Froholdt were perfect in their 62 snaps. No fumbles. No miscommunication. There is something to be said about that for two players who haven't played together for long. Watson also had no problems with his handoffs to Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt. 

The next five games will serve as an audition, so to speak, as he slowly rediscovers and relearns how to play the most important position on a football team. Might as well work on rudimentary fundamentals to sharpen them and be ready to roll next year 

Besides, this season is shot for the Browns, who are statistically -- and barely --- alive at 5-7. Realism says it would take a miracle of biblical proportions to be playing games after concluding the 2022 season in Pittsburgh on Jan. 8.

It was folly to think it would all come flooding back once Watson hit the field. He right now is nowhere near the quarterback who became a superstar and one of the top five NFL quarterbacks in just four seasons. 

The road back to regaining that elite status is laden with all kinds of obstacles. It is more difficult for a quarterback, though, because success on offense relies on timing and rhythm. 

Defense is all about aggression. Offense depends heavily on precision. It's 11 players on each play seeking perfection. One mistake, one hesitation can blow up a play. Precision is required for success.

The offensive line, for example, must be fluid with their drop steps in pass protection and move simultaneously. An ill-timed false start can mess up a possession. Receivers must run precise routes in order to be where the quarterback throws even before he arrives. Reliability is expected. Run an incorrect route or arrive late can result in an interception that isn't the quarterback's fault.

Running backs rely heavily on -- and work in concert with -- the offensive line in order to hit a designated hole at a specific time. Anytime you see someone like Chubb or Hunt bust a long run, chances are the timing was exquisite.

The more Watson plays, the quicker he will get the timing element down. Chances are he'll look better in next Sunday's game in Cincinnati. I'm speaking relatively, of course, because it certainly can't be any worse than in Houston.

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Browns fans haven't heard Tony Fields II's name called often since being drafted in the fifth round of the 2021 NFL's college football draft. And when they did in his rookie season, they might have said, "Is he still on the team? Didn't know that." That's because the linebacker was strictly a special teamer. Never played a down from scrimmage.

They most likely will hear it now after Fields' spectacular day in Sunday's victory over the Texans. He scored his first NFL touchdown after grabbing a deflected pass attempt, poked the football loose from Houston quarterback Kyle Allen inside the Texans' five-yard line that Denzel Ward picked up and scored an easy TD and recovered a fumble on a punt return that set up a Cade York field goal.

Quite a productive afternoon for someone who accumulated only 14 snaps from scrimmage in the first nine games this season before injuries took their toll at linebacker. Sione Takitaki, who has played very well the last few games, is the latest casualty with a torn ACL that ends his season. He joins fellow backers Anthony Walker Jr. and Jordan Phillips on injured reserve.

Fields has played 75 snaps in the last three games as a result with a season-high of 33 (51%)  against the Texans, mostly after Takitaki departed. Three of his four tackles were of the solo variety. He joins Jordan Kunaszyk, Deion Jones and Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah as the only linebackers on the active roster with three more on the practice squad.

It will be interesting to see how defensive coordinator Joe Woods uses Fields this Sunday against the Bengals. He can't let a player who had a hand in three scoring plays in limited time languish on the bench, can he? 

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Donovan Peoples-Jones is quietly having his best season as a pro. The third-year wide receiver has already surpassed his career-best in yards gained with 637 with five games to go. He needs to average 73 yards a game to record his first 1,000-yard season.

He has scored only one touchdown this season -- nope, make that two after his 76-yard scoring gallop with a punt in Houston -- and has proven a solid complement to Amari Cooper. Watson targeted him three times Sunday and connected each time for 44 yards. 

Even better, P-J has become a solid blocker in the ground game, which cannot be stressed enough as an important ingredient in his overall offensive package. He has developed into a nice all-around player.

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Finally . . . The ground game churned out 174 yards in Houston, Chubb and Hunt combining for 136 yards as Stefanski chose to run the ball nearly two-thirds of the time. Look for that ratio to tilt more toward the passing game against Cincinnati. . . . Props to punter Corey Bojorquez, who kept the Texans pinned inside their 20 on four of his six punts. He averaged 52 yards and cut loose with a 79-yarder to the Houston one after the Texans recorded a safety in the second quarter. . . .    The Browns reached the red zone just once, a season-low. . . . Takitaki was in on nine tackles to lead the Browns before the injury. . . . After being outplayed in the first half, the Browns came back to own the football for nearly 20 minutes in the second half.